dual battery setup? anyone have one or know how to do this?

[markmitchinnh]

I was thinking of adding a battery to my safari to make two. I am thinking since I do not have a spare under the back floor I could build a box into the floor to hold a spare battery. Just trying to make up a list of add ons to my project. Mark

[MountainManJoe]

I have one.

[MrJames]

I have one.

A timeless answer for the ages. Well done lol

[MountainManJoe]

I don't know what Mark wants it for, or what his expectations are... If he wants to know more, he needs to give us little more to go on.

[markmitchinnh]

I want it because my van will have all the accessories (electrical) of the build up vans. Such as: TV, DVD player, full stereo with amps and EQ, Vacuum cleaner, A/C, fog lights, visor lights, and so on.

[MountainManJoe]

First you need to determine how much power you plan to draw at any given moment. Then you will want a deep cycle battery (or two) and an inverter, and possibly a more powerful alternator (from what you describe probably not) . I have a have 100Ah Kirkland wet battery, and a 1750W Eliminator inverter. If you don't want to run down your starter battery when using your appliances, you'll need to isolate it somehow. There is a wide variety of ways to do this, depending on how much you want to spend. Starting at around $5, you can get a simple battery master switch. I wanted my system to be worry free, so I bought an electronic one that switches automatically for around $80. Then of course you'll need heavy gauge cable and terminal lugs. Welding cable works well for this.

Did you search around at all? There's several topics about this, including mine:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5589
(i'll have to fix those broken images)

[Krank88]

Can a battery be charged straight from a lighter receptacle. A clamp to either wire from the receptacle, one to the positive and one to the negative. Or am I asking for trouble?

Edit: Nevermind, this just shows why I get the voltage surprise all the time, right?

[MrJames]

Can a battery be charged straight from a lighter receptacle. A clamp to either wire from the receptacle, one to the positive and one to the negative. Or am I asking for trouble?

Edit: Nevermind, this just shows why I get the voltage surprise all the time, right?

Anything is possible but.............

Yes, I believe that a battery can be charged via the cigar lighter but not the way you say..............

There are products that contend that they will jump start a vehicle via the cigar lighter but...........

I don't believe that the lighter circuit or components are designed for the loads required to do the job properly.

No idea is too stupid to think about but sometimes more thought is required before........... and a ZAP

[Krank88]

Thanks, actually, I have a battery quick booster that I can use and connect to the 2nd battery and charge both from the lighter. But at one time I did have a battery charging straight from the lighter, I just wasn't sure how much it was charging and it didn't feel safe somehow, so I stopped.

Years ago, before I found this site, it was trial and error for me, I haven't been to the E.R. once since I found this site( ok I'm kidding, kinda).

[MountainManJoe]

Take a look at the cables connecting the alternator to your starter battery. Pretty thick right? There can be up to around 100A going through there. Do you know what would happen if you tried to stuff that through your cigarette lighter? (assuming the fuse didn't pop first) Well lets just say you would light more than your cigarette.

[tribri1]

I put one in a few months back. I decided to house it in the spare jack compartment. It works well back there, but I did spend s mint running battery cables all the way back. The battery does not sit flush in the box, so I built a new cover, it works great. I did a rookie mistake and bought a deep cycle RV battery on the advice of the auto parts guy. Once I put the cover on the acid started leaking... I replaced it with a deep cycle gel (blue top) instead.

[MountainManJoe]

That doesn't sound normal. There's nothing wrong with wet cells as long as you keep it in an enclosure, affixed properly, and don't overcharge it.

The problem with long cable runs like that is you lose voltage, so when your voltage sags the inverter faults prematurely.

[tribri1]

I'm open to other opinions. It worked fine for six weeks running my fridge. The first time I enclosed it, it started leaking. Took the cover off and it stopped... Nothing else changed. I figured it did not have enough venting and could not figure out a good way to vent it from the current location.

[1Gary]

Man I don't like to repeat myself,but dang it sure is hard to get you guys to listen sometimes.Look I measured and two batteries will fit in the original location by turning them side ways and build a battery tray out of angle iron.I am not where I am ready to do it yet on Ole Yellar,but that is what I am going to do.It doesn't get much simpler than that. #-o Listen and you will learn huh!!!. ](*,)

[MountainManJoe]

LOL. Relax, Gary. There's more than one way to skin a cat. It's not healthy to get so worked up. Just show us how you do it OK, and maybe I'll copy you.